


Line in the Sand

by A_Lonely_Soul (ImpendingExodus)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Bad Ending, Character Death, Descent into Madness, Dubious Morality, Implied/Referenced Suicide, M/M, Mild Blood, Monstertron Exchange, Obsession, Tragedy, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, mild violence, this ain't a healthy relationship folks, yikes this turned dark fast, zombie!Shiro
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-20
Updated: 2018-09-29
Packaged: 2019-06-30 07:46:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15747372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImpendingExodus/pseuds/A_Lonely_Soul
Summary: Takashi Shirogane -- personal logbookRoutine scavenging mission tomorrow morning. The settlement is running low on medicine again and I’m leading the team to find a pharmacy. All of the nearby ones have been raided already so we’re going to have to go farther afield... into Walker territory. It’s been a while since anyone’s headed out that far. I hope they’ve all been keeping up with their combat training.In other news, I’ve finally picked out a ring. Seems a silly gesture in this world, but I want to do things right. When we get back from the mission tomorrow -- that’s when I’ll ask him. That’s when I’ll ask Keith. Wish me luck.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Genesister (papirini)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/papirini/gifts).



> Hey there @papirini! I'm your partner for this exchange and WOW I had a lot of fun working on this story for you!! It doesn't follow your prompts list _exactly_ , which I hope is okay, because the characters kinda derailed my original plot lol. It's not as happy of a story as I'd intended, but I feel like it's true to the spirit of the characters. I really hope you like it!!!

_Takashi Shirogane -- personal logbook_

_June 3, 20XX_

_Routine scavenging mission tomorrow morning. The settlement is running low on medicine again and I’m leading the team to find a pharmacy. All of the nearby ones have been raided already so we’re going to have to go farther afield... into Walker territory. It’s been a while since anyone’s headed out that far. I hope they’ve all been keeping up with their combat training._

_In other news, I’ve finally picked out a ring. Seems a silly gesture in this world, but I want to do things right. When we get back from the mission tomorrow -- that’s when I’ll ask him. That’s when I’ll ask Keith. Wish me luck._

\----

The snarling mouth drooled blood and saliva, thick strings of it running down and dripping to the ground. Eyes were blank, fixed on the humans with the dumb ferocity of a starving animal. The right arm was held oddly, blood darkening the sleeve, the bite wound already turning necrotic and snaking black tendrils along the skin toward where the heart had used to beat.

Shiro was dead.

He was dead, yet his body still snarled and clawed at the foot of the fire escape where his team had taken refuge.

Keith, Lance, and Hunk clung to their rusted perch and watched as Shiro paced the ground below.

“What do we do?” Lance sniffled. He clutched the backpack full of salvaged medicine tighter. “We can... we can bring him back, right?”

Hunk leaned in till their shoulders touched, a pitiful gesture of comfort. Tearing his eyes away from Shiro’s relentless glare, he shook his head. “He’s already gone. I knew we shouldn’t have split up! I knew it! It was a stupid idea and now --”

“It was Shiro’s idea. Besides, it’s too late for second guessing. I’m going to deal with this one way or another.”

Hunk and Lance looked up at Keith, who was crouched on the very edge of the platform, tracking Shiro’s movements with his eyes. His voice was altogether too calm for someone who just lost a leader and friend. Shock, probably. None of them were thinking clearly right now.

“Deal with it,” Lance muttered. “What do you mean, ‘deal with it’? This isn’t something you just deal with!” He lunged toward Keith and gripped him by the shoulder frantically tight. “What are you going to do to him?!”

With a growl, Keith threw off the hand and stood up. He shifted from foot to foot like he wanted to pace -- matching Shiro’s unsteady, unceasing stride -- but the metal landing was too small.

“He’s my partner. I’m gonna do what’s right.” Keith crouched down again and slung off his backpack.

“What do you mean by that?” Lance leaned forward again but Hunk held him back away from Keith’s frantic eyes.

They watched in a moment of stunned silence as Keith knelt at the very edge and loosened his knife in its sheath. Ten feet below, Shiro stopped still and looked up, lips curled back in a hungry expression.

“Do you think he’d want to live like this,” came Keith’s too-calm voice again. “I can give him rest. It’s the least I can do.”

“Like hell!” Lance’s shout echoed off the buildings surrounding the narrow alley. “He’s my friend too! You’re not going to kill him!”

“You don’t have a say in this!” Keith shot back, volume rising as tears finally started to spill.

Keith aimed a punch at Lance but Hunk was between them too quickly, grunting as the fist slammed into his shoulder instead. “Hey, hey guys, calm down! All this noise is bound to attract more Walkers.”

Keith turned away and bent over the railing, resting his head on the metal and gasping. He had to be gasping, he couldn’t be sobbing, he needed to be the leader now. Behind his back, the two shared a miserable look.

“I know what we gotta do,” Lance said softly, pressing his mouth into a thin trembling line. “I just... need a minute. This is all going way too fast.”

“Yeah. Same.” Hunk swallowed. He was doing his best to look anywhere but at the thing pacing below them.

Keith nodded but didn’t otherwise move from the railing. There was protocol for what to do in this situation; they’d all been through the lectures often enough. If your friend was turned, they weren’t your friend any more. Walkers would kill you if you didn’t kill them first; no friendship or kinship or love remained in them.

But still... Keith shut his eyes against Shiro’s handsome face twisted into something inhuman.

“Tell us what we need to do,” Hunk said at last. His voice was thick and one arm was hugging Lance to him tightly, but there was resolve in his tone. “This is awful for all of us but if we stay here any longer, we won’t make it back before dark. And right now, there’s only one way down.”

“Yeah.” Keith stood upright again, keeping his face turned away. “I need you to... distract him so I can get down there and. Do what I have to.”

“I have a few bullets left,” Lance volunteered. “I don’t want you getting bitten too.”

“No. Too noisy. I’ll use my knife.”

“Alright,” Hunk said. It probably would have been safer overall to shoot and run, but Keith was their leader now and this was his choice. It was no secret that he and Shiro were close. If doing this, if personally putting an end to Shiro’s suffering, was a form of closure and catharsis, then Hunk wasn’t going to stop him.

“Lance, give me your jacket.”

Without a word, Lance complied and handed it to Keith. The sleeves were damp where he’d kept wiping his eyes and nose.

“You’re going to drop that on him?” Hunk asked.

“Yeah.” Keith weighed the fabric. Walkers were notoriously clumsy -- _until they somehow manage to bite the veteran leader of a salvage team_ \-- so the jacket should buy him several seconds before Shiro could fight his way free. That was all he needed, just a few seconds. And it would be easier this way, right? Keith wouldn’t have to see his face. It would just be another Walker, like the three they’d killed earlier today, like the dozens they’d encountered in the past. Just an ordinary day in the apocalypse.

“Here goes,” he said, and dropped the jacket. He had a moment’s glimpse of Shiro’s expression as he looked up, then the cloth enveloped his head and he flailed with no coordination. Keith jumped off the fire escape, rolled to break his fall, and was back on his feet immediately.

Knife in hand, he rushed forward just as the jacket slipped aside.

\----

_Keith Kogane -- official mission report_

_June 4, 20XX_

_Encountered 3 Walkers on the way into Lion City suburbs. Terminated all. Hunk is recommended for marksman training._

_Pharmacy raid was a success. Retrieved 5 packages antibiotics, 3 packages morphine, 6 packages assorted vitamins._

_Encountered herd of Walkers on way out of city. Shiro ordered us to split up to avoid TPK. Regrouped at rendezvous site; Shiro had been bitten._

_Terminated._

_Returned to settlement._

\----

The funeral was brief.

Everyone had lost friends and family to the plague, and grief was not a new expression on the faces of the survivors. There was a wall in the settlement where all the names of the fallen were listed; Commander Holt inscribed Shiro’s name there and people piled flowers on the ground. There was no point burying an empty coffin.

Hunk, Lance, and Keith stood to one side and watched in silence.

\----

The day after the funeral, Keith checked over his gear one more time. Just because the area around the settlement had been mostly cleared of Walkers wasn’t a reason to be careless. Anyone going outside the walls had to be on guard at all times, ready for anything.

Loading his revolver, he slipped it into its holster and reached for his knife. The blade was as meticulously clean as always, bright enough to reflect his own grim expression back at him. He slid it into his belt and headed outside where Hunk was sitting in the sunshine pooled on the porch. Beyond him, the dusty streets of the town were crowded with people going about their business in the cramped settlement.

“Morning,” Hunk said. The pieces of his shotgun were laid out on a towel as he cleaned and oiled the mechanism.

“I’ve got the day off. I’ll be heading out for a bit.”

Hunk raised an eyebrow at the weapons he was carrying. “Heading... outside the walls?”

“Yeah. Just need some time to myself.”

“Hm.” Hunk turned back to his work, then glanced up and hesitated as a group of people walked past. When they were out of earshot, he looked back up at Keith and narrowed his eyes. “It’s about Shiro, isn’t it. Want company?”

It was a moment before Keith nodded. “Sure.”

While Hunk expertly put his gun together, Keith stood on the concrete porch and tapped his foot. The commander had given him the day off -- had given all three as many days off as they needed -- but it wasn’t exactly protocol to wander outside the walls. Bringing back food was always a good excuse, but... Keith shifted the weight of his backpack. As long as no one stopped them and asked, it would be fine.

“I’m ready to move out when you are, boss.”

Keith led the way toward the main gate. “I already told Lance I was going for a walk. He’ll be able to cover for us if anyone asks where we are.”

“Good idea. Although honestly, I’m more afraid of running into Walkers than I am of what Holt will do to us.”

They passed through the gate with nothing more than nodded acknowledgement from the wall patrol; so far, so good.

The farther they walked from the town, the slower and quieter their progress became. Most Walkers tended to stay in cities -- without any immediate reason for them to leave, they stayed in the same general area where they’d been turned. Some people thought that they were like voodoo zombies, somehow linked to the places they’d lived as humans, but that theory didn’t hold up. It was more likely that without intelligence, they simply couldn’t figure out how to escape the city’s maze of streets and didn’t know where to go once they reached the open plains.

But still, it paid to be cautious. Shiro’s demise was an intimate reminder that even the most experienced people weren’t invincible.

Maybe their luck had finally changed for the better, though, since the two reached the outskirts of Lion City without incident. Here among the buildings it would be harder to see enemies coming, so their pace slowed to a crawl.

“There it is,” Keith muttered, pointing with his chin toward a towering apartment complex. “We’ve almost made it.” He leaned out of the alley and looked up and down the street before darting across into the shelter of an overgrown decorative shrub.

Hunk caught up to him a moment later, breathing heavily. “You sure about this? We could always go back now and --”

But Keith was already moving to the next hiding place, and even when Hunk hurried after him, Keith kept moving fast enough to avoid any further attempt at conversation.

The ground floor of the apartments had been built with floor-to-ceiling windows, showing off the luxury of the marble-tiled lobby and the interior fountain. Now all the glass was broken shards on the pavement and the fountain was long dry. Dull red smears marred the white marble. It was dead silent inside.

“Floor six, right?” Hunk asked, looking at the elevator bank wistfully.

“Yeah. This way.”

Floor six was just as vandalized and destroyed as the lobby, but some doors along the hallway were still intact. Keith and Hunk headed down the hall, their flashlights the only illumination in the darkened corridor. Handing Hunk his light, Keith stopped in front of door 610 and braced his shoulder against it. There was the sound of wood groaning, something heavy scooting across the floor on the other side, and the door slid open enough for Keith to squeeze through.

“Hang on just a moment.” He disappeared inside, grunting as he heaved a huge bookshelf out of the way and the door swung fully open.

Hunk closed the door behind him and turned off the flashlights. The apartment had sliding doors that led to a balcony, and the sunlight coming in was more than enough to show the sorry state of the place. Books, dishes, a tv were smashed and scattered on the floor. A few of the larger pieces of furniture had survived the initial wreckage, but two years of neglect had taken their toll. On the adjacent wall, there was a bedroom door, wedged shut with a crowbar and the corner of a desk.

“Here, I’ll help,” Hunk said, lending a hand as Keith barricaded the bookcase against the front door again. As they dusted off their hands, a muttered snarl came from within the bedroom.

Hunk gulped and shared a glance with Keith.

“I’ll go first,” Keith said, pushing the desk aside and drawing his knife. He laid a hand on the knob, took a deep breath, and flung the door open.

One heartbeat, then two.

Keith returned his blade to its scabbard.

“Hello, Shiro.”

\----

newspaper found in abandoned apartment:

_Doctors Unable to Find Cause or Cure for Mystery Disease_

_In a press release on Monday, Dr. Williams from the Georgia CDC announced that they were still analyzing data from the series of “zombie” outbreaks in the state. Dr. Williams advises people to avoid contact with victims of the disease and to call both police and medical experts if an infection is suspected._

_...Symptoms of the disease usually appear one to three hours after the victim has been infected. These can include loss of coordination, loss of ability to speak, erratic behavior, and aggression. Some suggest that the infection is a virus similar in effect to rabies, but the data is inconclusive to support this hypothesis._

\----

“Y’know, Holt’s gonna have our hides for dinner if he finds out about this.”

“I know, Hunk.”

“ _Shiro_ is gonna have us for dinner if we’re not super, super careful.”

“ _I know_ , Hunk.”

“What are _we_ gonna have for dinner? You’re feeding all our rations to a Walker!”

“I know, Hunk! If you don’t want to be here, then just leave!” Keith opened a can of spam and tossed the contents toward Shiro, who snapped and snarled at the end of his chain.

Hunk fell silent but he watched with hurt in his eyes as Shiro ignored the food, stepping on it in favor of swiping at the two with a black-nailed hand. At least the chain was holding. _That_ had been an adventure that he wasn’t eager to repeat any time soon. He shuddered at the thought.

It hadn’t seemed like a good idea at the time, but maybe it was better than killing Shiro? He couldn’t tell. All Hunk had done was follow orders. Although Keith had seemed prepared up on the fire escape, when he’d hit the ground and faced Shiro, things had changed. Instead of killing the Walker, Keith had stunned him, then bundled his head in Lance’s bulky jacket and bound his arms with a belt. And then... then they’d hauled a stumbling, snarling Walker to the outskirts of the city, picked up studded dog collar and chain along the way, and chained him here in this apartment, far enough out of the way that neither scavenging parties nor other Walkers ought to come across it.

And now they were back here the very next day, delivering food to their friend-turned-zombie, like it was the most natural thing in the world.

“He’s not eating,” Hunk pointed out at last, as Shiro continued to pace at the end of the chain. “I think he wants blood, not canned pork product.”

Keith frowned. “Maybe he’s agitated because we’re right here. I’ll shut the door and see if that calms him down. If I have to, I can go out and hunt some rabbits or something.”

“Good idea.” Hunk pulled the door shut with a sense of relief, and collapsed next to Keith on the ruined couch. “How long are we going to do this to him?” He indicated _this_ with a glance toward the noises still filtering through the bedroom door. How long were they going to risk their lives to keep a Walker fed and comfortable? Checking up on him like a favorite pet? Yes it was Shiro, but more importantly, it _was_ Shiro. Had been. Wasn’t any more.

Keith shrugged and fiddled with the zippers on his backpack. “Until there’s a cure, I guess.”

“The plague’s been going for years now, man. Any doctors working on it gave up a long time ago.”

Silence.

“I guess I don’t mind bringing him food, I mean, he was my friend too. But what are we going to do when he starts rotting and falling to pieces?”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”

“Right.” Better to agree with Keith; the brusqueness in his voice was plain -- when they reached that bridge, Keith was going to keep on marching as if it didn’t exist at all.

Tossing his backpack aside, Keith got up and pushed the bedroom door open a crack. Hunk braced himself in preparation for a barrage of inhuman snarls, but instead there was only quiet chewing noises.

“Hey, looks like he’s got a taste for ham after all,” Keith said with forced optimism.

“Isn’t that great,” Hunk muttered under his breath. “Maybe we can turn him vegetarian while we’re at it.”

Keith squatted down in the doorway, well out of reach of the chain they’d wrapped around the bedpost. He tried to stay stoic but he couldn’t help looking for signs of Shiro in the blank, feral face and empty eyes. Nothing, not even a flicker. It was like watching a starved animal tear into the meat, ripping off chunks and swallowing whole, picking pieces off the floor as he growled to himself.

The rest of the changes brought about by the infection were more subtle, but Keith had seen enough Walkers to know what to look for. The veins in Shiro’s right hand and up the side of his neck were blackened as blood thickened and ceased to flow. His skin was pale, extremities bluish, revealing that his heart had long since stopped beating.

But he was eating canned ham.

Weren’t Walkers supposed to only eat human flesh?

Keith inched closer, boots scuffing, and Shiro looked up from his hunched position on the floor. Pieces of meat clung to his mouth and chin but at least he wasn’t acting as aggressive as before. Still, he bared his teeth when Keith extended a hand forward, and there was no doubt that he would attack in an instant if given the chance.

Keith sighed and stood up. “Let’s go. Don’t want anyone at the settlement getting nosy about where we’ve been.”

Hunk was on his feet a little too eagerly, gathering his gear and pushing the bookcase away from the entrance.

Hesitating a moment longer, Keith glanced around the bedroom. The bed itself was rumpled and dusty, but would serve well enough if Shiro wanted to sleep on it. The window was barred but let in sunlight and a bit of a view of the streets below. Most sentimental items had been taken when the original occupants had evacuated, and what was left had been swept aside in Shiro’s wild rage. A gloomy prison, but a safe one.

“See you later,” Keith said softly as he eased the door shut and barricaded it again.

“Yeah. I miss you too, buddy,” Hunk echoed.

They propped the bookcase at an angle so it would lean its whole weight against the door, then slipped outside and heard it fall into place. Out here in the corridor, Shiro’s growling was hardly audible.

Keith led the way down the many flights of stairs and back through the streets of the city. Once they were in the wilderness area at the edge of town, he shot down a pair of Canada geese as an excuse for why he’d been gone so long. The trek back to the settlement was uneventful and dead silent -- both for caution, and because Hunk didn’t know what to say. He remembered hearing stories of the start of the plague; people had held onto hope for a cure, and had kept their loved ones around far longer than was safe. That’s partly why the disease had spread so far and so quickly. People would keep tending to the infected, not realizing that their humanity slipped away and was replaced only by hunger, until it was far too late. Whole families turned at a time. Sentimentality was deadly.

But as he looked at the etched lines on Keith’s face, the grim expression of dogged hope, Hunk couldn’t help but feel conflicted. Keith just needed some time to come to terms with this. Then he’d do the right thing, he’d end Shiro’s awful undeath, and they all could mourn him properly before moving on.

Hunk was willing to give him all the space and time he needed until that decision was made.

 


	2. Chapter 2

_Hunk’s journal_

_June 7, 20XX_

_This isn’t right. I mean, there’s a lot of stuff in the world now that isn’t right, but this... Man. I don’t know what Keith is thinking. I’m not sure he_ is _thinking, or if he’s just acting on pure emotion. If I could save people, I would. There’s a laundry list of people I’d bring back this instant if I could. But no one’s brought back a corpse because it can’t. be. done. What’s dead is dead and should stay that way. Isn’t that the whole point of our training, to make us the very best at killing things that ought to already be in their graves?_

_It’s hard seeing Keith so hopeful. I don’t think he ever believed in a cure before Shiro got infected. But now that’s all he talks about. I think it’ll kill him when he realizes there’s nothing he or anyone can do. So I’ll play along as long as I can. I hope he can find a new reason to live. I hope he can find the will to let Shiro go._

\----

The weekend was pouring rain and Keith, along with most people in the settlement, was kept busy collecting rainwater and transporting it to the huge holding tanks. There were several wells under the settlement, but summer was coming and clean water would be in short supply. But by Monday the sky was clear, and Keith shook Hunk awake before the sun had fully risen.

“What?” the bigger man asked. He blinked at the dawn light and rolled his shoulders, stiff from so much manual labor yesterday.

“I’m gonna go see Shiro again. I tried to get Lance to come but he said he needs his beauty sleep. So are you going to be my lookout or what?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m with you.” Hunk sat up and fumbled for his clothes. “Weren’t we out there not too long ago?”

“I don’t know how often Walkers need to eat. I didn’t spare his life just so I could make him starve in solitary confinement.”

“You make it sound like he’s a person.”

“Shiro _is_ a person. He’s still in there, I know it.” Keith turned on his heel and strode from the bunkhouse, leaving Hunk to gather his things and hurry after him.

The morning started out with a hint of chill as the dew fell, but by the time the two made it into Lion City the summer heat was making itself felt. Keith took off his jacket and tied it around his waist, rubbing at his forehead with his glove. At the angle they were approaching from, they could see the sixth story windows of the apartment complex. Most of them were barred as a last-ditch security measure -- not that it had done a lot of good for the inhabitants. Shiro’s window faced northeast and was touched by the sun, but nothing could be seen through the grimy pane.

When they got all the way inside, shoving the bookcase out of the way again, they were greeted by mumbling and shifting noises from inside the bedroom.

“Be my guest,” Hunk muttered. He hung back and bowed sarcastically as Keith reached for the bedroom door.

“Shiro?” Keith nudged it open and the growling increased in volume. “It’s okay,” he said, glancing back at Hunk. “He’s still here, still chained, same as before.”

“Yay.” Hunk sat down on the couch and watched as Keith opened a can of meat and tossed the contents into the bedroom. The same as last time, Shiro hesitated and stared at the humans before reluctantly picking up the food and shoving it into his mouth.

Keith settled himself in the bedroom doorway. “He didn’t lunge at me this time. Maybe he’s learning. That’s a sign of intelligence.”

“Yeah. Maybe.”

“If there’s even a basic level of sentience left, then all we need to do is keep teaching him how to be a human again. Even if his memories don’t return, there’s still hope for him to lead a normal life, right?”

Hunk felt queasy but nodded anyway. “Sure there is. There’s always hope.”

“You got that right,” Keith agreed. He smiled as he relaxed against the doorframe and watched the Walker maul the food. “If anyone can fight this, it’s Shiro. I’ll get him back eventually. I promise. We’ve just got to believe in him a little longer.”

They sat in relative silence for several minutes. Hunk was getting more antsy the longer he thought about what exactly it was they were doing. Who in their right mind would ever keep a Walker alive? If some people had pet rocks, then this was like having a pet hand grenade. But the soft, sad look on Keith’s face weighed just as heavily on Hunk’s conscience.

 _A little longer_.

Every time Hunk or Lance questioned Keith about what to do next, he’d just ask for a little longer. It was clear he was buying time, but Hunk didn’t have the heart to call him out on it. After all, this had happened so suddenly. Keith needed to adjust; they all did.

Then they could move on and try to find a new normal for their lives. It would only take a little longer.

\----

_Hunk’s journal_

_June 10, 20XX_

_How crazy is too crazy?? How far am I supposed to let this go? I mean, here we are with a Walker on a leash, paying it (him?) visits every day so he doesn’t get lonely. It’s beyond crazy at this point!_

_I understand where Keith’s coming from. The Walker still looks like Shiro, minus a bit of discoloration and death smell. Yeah it would be hard to look him in the eye and put a bullet in him. But that’s what needs to be done! If it was any other Walker, none of us would hesitate. So why am I feeling like I’m the one with the problem now? Is it really that bad to re-kill him? He’s dead already, it’s not like we’d be shooting our friend. It’s a walking decaying corpse that would eat our brains if given half a chance. I’m the sane one here! Keith can’t be right... can he?_

\----

Things went smoothly for the next several days. They all kept quiet about Shiro’s lingering existence; Keith managed to sneak away time and again with food for the Walker; Hunk and Lance did their best to put the whole thing from their minds and go about their lives as usual.

“It’s only a matter of time,” Hunk murmured to Lance as they watched Keith steal an extra can of food from the mess hall.

“He just needs to adjust to Shiro being gone,” Hunk said when Keith returned later that night, tired but with bright eyes as he told them that Shiro was getting better at eating the canned food without hesitation.

“Think of how hard this has to be for him. Shiro was our friend, but he was Keith’s lover. You don’t just recover from that pain immediately.”

Lance nodded silently each time. His eyes betrayed how unhappy he was with the situation -- and Hunk felt that too, deep in his soul -- but Keith was their friend and squad leader. They couldn’t very well turn him in to Commander Holt. If something happened to Shiro before Keith was ready... Hunk didn’t want to be around to witness the consequences.

Most times, Lance would volunteer to stay behind at the settlement and avert suspicion while Hunk and Keith went off to check on Shiro. Keith was insistent that they visit him every other day, and Hunk told himself that it was just his way of gearing up to say goodbye for the final time. Besides, there was still the matter of the small velvet box that Hunk had found while boxing up Shiro’s possessions. Of course Keith deserved to know, if he hadn’t already known or guessed, but that could be the straw that broke his back. Or maybe it was the push he needed to recognize that the creature chained in the desolate apartment was not, would never again be, his friend.

Ten days after the disastrous mission, the three reported to Commander Holt for active duty. Keith was in high enough spirits that it seemed he’d finished mourning, and Hunk was hopeful that a change of focus might bring things into perspective. They were assigned to scout a suburb on the fringes of Lion City. The lookout had seen smoke on the horizon yesterday, and the team needed to investigate if it was human refugees or just a brush fire. The commander couldn’t have known, but the suburb was also close to the secret apartment, causing Keith to accept the mission with strangled eagerness.

While Lance and Hunk dragged their feet on the way out of the settlement’s gates, Keith’s steps were firm and purposeful.

“I get that hope is important and all, but I’m pretty sure there’s a line that Keith crossed a long time ago.” Lance slowed to walk alongside Hunk. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but he’s not really moving past this, is he?”

Hunk shook his head. “Not really, no. But what else can we do? If this is his way of coping, then... I hope it works out for him eventually. I just don’t want to be around when he realizes what he’s doing to Shiro in the name of humanity.”

“Yeah. If anything of Shiro _is_ in there --”

“It would be kinder to put a bullet in him,” Hunk finished the thought. Twenty steps ahead of them, Keith marched at a pace that was hard to keep up with.

“My thoughts exactly.”

“Keith has to be the one to do it though. I think if either of us stepped up, he’d put a bullet in _us_.”

“Then the only question is: how long do we let this go on? Although I guess if we wait long enough, the Walker will fall to pieces on its own and Keith will have to deal with it one way or another.”

Hunk shrugged, a gesture that Lance mirrored. “We’ll see what happens when we get there.”

Conversation died off as they approached the gloomy shapes of deserted houses -- prime Walker territory. All three carried their guns ready in their hands, and stuck close together, watching every shadow and bit of overgrowth for movement before darting forward to the next sheltered area.

It wasn’t hard to trace the lingering scent of smoke to a burnt-out tree and blackened grass. A lightning strike, from the look of things. Even any nearby Walkers had already lost interest and left the vicinity.

“Well, at least this will be an easy report to write,” Lance said. He kicked at the ashes and a few embers glowed for a moment before fading out. “Do we get to go home now?”

But both he and Hunk already knew the answer, from the way Keith’s gaze turned toward the broken skyscrapers in the middle distance.

“C’mon, we gave him food yesterday. I think he’ll be fine,” Hunk said, even though he knew it was useless. “I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night. Can we please not trek all the way out there today?”

“Just one more time,” Keith said -- the same thing he’d been saying for the last several days. But he was their leader, and Shiro had been their leader, and there was nothing if not loyalty holding the team together. So they followed single-file, alert for danger, toward the city.

\----

The path up to the sixth-story apartment was familiar to them all by now. It was habit to push open the main door, worm inside despite the weight of the bookcase. Lance leaned moodily against one wall while Hunk flung himself on the dilapidated couch with a muttered, “Wake me up when it’s time to go home.”

Keith shrugged off his backpack and unbarred the bedroom door, undeterred by the shuffling noises on the other side.

“Hey, Shiro --”

His greeting was cut short, breath startled out of him by the six-foot-plus Walker shoving his way through the ajar door. Keith stumbled back, falling partly behind the door as he fumbled for the knife at his belt. The Walker lurched forward as Lance screamed and Hunk sat up quickly.

“No!” Keith yelled as Lance’s pistol rang and Shiro flinched and tripped, gaunt fingers outstretched and clawing at Hunk’s shirt. There was still two feet of chain dangling from Shiro’s neck and Keith grabbed the rusted end of it and yanked. Stumbling backward, the Walker flailed but Keith was fast enough to avoid his swipes and keep him off balance for the moment. It was a good thing that Shiro had lost so much body mass over the two weeks of undeath, as Keith was more than strong enough to hold him at arm’s length and wrestle him back into the bedroom.

This close to the Walker, the smell of decay was strong enough to make Keith choke and he almost tripped over the threshold. Off-color teeth snapped at nothing; Shiro’s eyes were wide, whites showing, only semi-focused as he struggled mindlessly against the chain. There was still noise coming from the main room. Keith couldn’t make out anything but panicked shouting, and he added to the din by yelling for help.

“Someone give me a hand! I need to get him tied to the bed again!”

When there was no answer, Keith growled and shoved Shiro back against the wall. The Walker snarled and tore at the sleeves of Keith’s leather jacket. Well, nothing to do about it now. Might as well see what was up with Hunk and Lance, and once they were over their hysteria, they could come back in here and figure out how to chain Shiro so he couldn’t break free again. It would be easier to handle him the second time, now that they knew he was loose in here and could expect it.

It was relatively easy to trip Shiro; Walkers weren’t known for their coordination, and in the time that it took him to regain his feet and drunkenly lunge for Keith, the bedroom door was slammed in his face and Keith shoved the loveseat in front to block it.

But as he turned to check on his team, to reassure them and pep talk them back onto their feet if needed, even Keith’s blood ran cold in his chest. Hunk was on one knee by the couch, dark face ashen as the collar of his yellow shirt turned rust-brown. By his side, Lance still had his gun in one hand while with the other he ripped through his backpack for a first aid kit.

“Hunk? Hunk!” Keith threw himself to his knees at the other man’s side.

Lance kicked out at him but his balance wobbled and he sat down quickly on the couch, holding his weapon and pack in a death grip. “Get away from him!” Lance’s voice wavered and cracked. “You’re the reason he’s bitten!”

“What are you talking about?” Keith brushed him off. “Hunk, buddy. Talk to me.”

Terrified eyes raised to meet his gaze. “I’m not going to make it. I know what happens now.”

“No, no! You’re going to be fine. You can fight this off, trust me.” Keith put a gentle hand on Hunk’s uninjured shoulder.

“Like hell.”

“Lance and I are here to help you! I know you can do it -- you can hold on to your humanity throughout the transformation. Then when the cure is found we’ll bring you back just like new.”

A crack resounded through the air and Keith fell back clutching his cheek. Lance had regained his feet and raised his hand for a second blow.

“Don’t you _dare_ go spitting those lies right now. There’s only one way this ends, and it’s not with everything turning into sunshine and rainbows. Hunk wouldn’t be dying right now if it wasn’t for your stupid plan to keep Shiro around until he rots into compost!”

“I’m saving him!” Keith roared. “I’ll bring him back; I’ll bring them all back. Just stay out of my way!”

“No.” Hunk stood up, blood seeping between the fingers he pressed against his shoulder. “Keith, I’m sorry I played along so easily. I just wanted you to feel better about losing Shiro. But this is too far; if you can’t even see that, then you’re the one who needs saving. Because whatever else your plans entail, I’m not going to be a part of them any longer. Lance, grab my shotgun. We’re leaving.”

“Don’t do this!” Keith yelled as they shoved the bookcase away from the front door, but he didn’t dare move to stop them. “What about Shiro? Hunk, we could stay with you during the transformation, see how it happens! You could hold onto your humanity, I’m sure of it. Then we can use what we learn to cure Shiro -- to cure everyone! Imagine it, a world with no more Walkers. We can reverse the apocalypse! Hunk! Lance!”

They shut the door but could still hear his shouts out in the hallway.

“Hunk...” Lance’s voice was soft and he blindly dragged his friend into an embrace. “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry, I should have stopped this sooner, I knew it was crazy from the start --”

“It’s -- I don’t know, it’s not okay. But there’s not much choice now, is there? Not for me, at least.”

“I’ll do what I have to. I promise.”

“Thanks, Lance.” Hunk’s stoic expression crumbled and he pulled Lance in for another hug, strong enough to bruise his ribs. The larger man was trembling.

Lance was still murmuring heartbroken apologies as Hunk finally took a deep breath and released him, walking a few strides and kneeling down facing the wall.

“You should probably hurry up. I can feel the infection spreading; feels like my whole arm and neck are on fire.”

“Yeah. Okay. Okay.” Shaking hands loaded the shotgun, cocked it, brought it up to aim at the back of Hunk’s bowed head.

“Tell my parents I love them. Don’t mention that Keith had anything to do with this. I don’t want them to blame anyone, hate anyone. Um, also tell Shay I love her too. There’s a letter to her under my pillow, I figured I was always better at writing things out than saying them, helps to keep my mind straight, you know? And you can have first dibs on all my gear and cool stuff I’ve collected.” He took a bracing breath. “Okay, I think that’s everything. Thanks for being with me till the end, buddy.”

“You were the best. Thanks for... being my friend. I’ll never forget you, Hunk.”

“See you on the other side.” Another deep, shuddering inhale. “All right then. Goodbye.”

“... Goodbye.”

The gunshot echoed through the hallway and out into the air over the silent city.

\----

_This isn’t fair!_

Keith raged silently at the four walls, feeling trapped, suffocated, forced to play cards he’d never wanted to hold. On the other side of the door, he could hear Shiro growling and pacing, scrabbling at the wood. _He_ knew what it was like to be desperate. _He_ was counting on Keith to do something about it, so he could get out of that miserable room and resume the rest of his life. He deserved that, he deserved so much. So much that Keith couldn’t give him.

What right did Hunk have to be so selfish! He knew that his sacrifice could have increased their understanding of Walkers a hundredfold. So why did he turn down that chance to help? Keith had already shown that being bitten wasn’t the end! Shiro had been infected nearly two weeks ago and he was still walking around, still eating the human rations that Keith fed him. It was a long, hard road to come back to being a person, but with determination it could be done.

He snarled and kicked the door. As if in answer, a gunshot rang out from the corridor outside. Terrific. Now he had Hunk’s blood on his hands. Keith had been stupid; this whole arrangement had been stupid. He should have only ever come here alone. The others were only coddling him all along, weren’t they? They thought that this was a passing obsession of his.

Shiro slammed his weight against the door, rattling it on its hinges, but it was sturdy and held firm. Keith stepped closer, listened as the noises on the other side ceded into predatory silence, and pressed his forehead to the cold wood.

“Just hang in there,” he muttered. The door was thick, but from the lack of movement on the other side, he knew Shiro was listening. “I’ll find a way to get you back. I promise.”

Keith closed his eyes. It was so easy to picture Shiro’s face in his mind, the way he’d smiled whenever Keith pledged to protect him until his dying breath. The kind of smile that was self-deprecating and fatalistic, as if he knew that Keith would try and try and _fail_. He couldn’t let things end that way. It would be worth it -- this sacrifice would be worth it -- if only he could see that face again as it was supposed to be.

“I love you, Shiro,” he murmured, lips close enough that they caressed the door that separated them. “I’ll figure something out. I promise Hunk won’t have died for nothing.”

There were footsteps behind him, wavering as they came closer. He half expected the raspy click of a shotgun being cocked, but instead there was a thump as the weapon dropped to the floor.

“Why.” Lance’s voice was raw. “Is Shiro really worth... _this_ to you?”

Keith dropped his head against the door and didn’t answer.

“End this. Here and now. I’ll do it if you can’t. But I won’t have any more of my friends killed for the sake of one man -- of one Walker.”

“Don’t you dare,” Keith growled. He turned around suddenly and Lance stepped back from the force of his gaze. “I didn’t come this far to see Shiro die.”

“So what now? Are you gonna be killed? Am I? How far is this going to go before you realize that Shiro’s gone and dead and not coming back!”

“Take that back!”

“Face the facts, Keith! You got Hunk killed --”

Keith struck like a cobra, fast and hard enough that Lance was on the ground before he could say another syllable. Terrified blue eyes stared up into stony purple-gray ones as the point of Keith’s hunting knife hovered over Lance’s throat.

“Hunk got himself killed,” Keith hissed. “Isn’t that how it goes? You stay alert or you die. Don’t try to blame me.”

Lance broke eye contact but the blade didn’t waver. Finally he gave a tiny nod. Placated, the knife withdrew an inch.

“So tell me what the plan is. Just keep doing what you’re doing? Shiro’s life is worth all of ours put together, right?”

The death in Keith’s eyes intensified at the words, but he didn’t say otherwise. Let Lance have his fill of venomous thoughts. While Keith wanted to deny that Shiro was worth more, a deeper part of him knew the truth. He’d do whatever it took to bring back the heart he loved so dearly -- he’d sacrifice Hunk, Lance, the whole settlement. Whatever it took. He’d promised.

Lance pushed at his hand and he realized he’d let the knife go slack and rest against the other’s neck. Keith pulled back, climbing to hands and knees and then to his feet. In a daze, he slipped the blade into its familiar place at his belt.

“We need to go home,” he said faintly. Right now, he needed to lie down in the safety and quiet of his own bed and stare at a wall until his thoughts quieted down. _Shiro wouldn’t want this. Shiro wouldn’t want this_ , his mind kept repeating. He needed to hold a pillow over his head and scream until the hideous voice of guilt went hoarse.

But he couldn’t do that yet, because Lance picked up his gun and stared at it like something new. “I don’t think so,” he said, turning the weapon over and cradling it close to his shoulder. “I think I need to go home. I have... to tell Hunk’s family. But I think you should stay here.”

Keith barked a wretched laugh. “What’s that supposed to mean? You gonna kill me and avenge Hunk?”

“No. But if you come back to the settlement, I’ll tell Holt about Shiro. That’s the deal. You can stay here with your Walker boyfriend until you both rot away, or find a cure, or whatever. I’m not going to let you destroy anyone else the way you destroyed this team.”

“You’re serious?” Keith spread his arms, knife tucked away, and advanced two steps. Lance retreated accordingly and brandished the shotgun.

“It’s either that, or I blow you away here and now and tell the commander that we got ambushed and I was the only survivor.”

“Ha. You wouldn’t even tell him the truth? Too afraid of being labeled an outcast yourself?”

Lance sneered though tears still sparked in his eyes. “You tried your best as leader; I was going to give you the dignity of a worthy death. But if you want to be remembered as the teamkiller, be my guest.”

“You’re the real murderer here though. Killed Hunk, going to kill me, then Shiro no doubt. Three dead, and you walk away free.” The urge was growing to snatch his knife and tackle Lance. Take down anyone that threatened Shiro, right? But he couldn’t, not in cold blood. Lance was still shaking, on the verge of tears from Hunk’s sudden death. It was too easy to think of all the other times Keith had seen him scared or sad -- times that Keith himself had been the one to offer grim comfort. Despite this recent rift between them, Lance was still his friend and teammate. Shiro would never want this.

Keith turned back toward the bedroom. “So go home. I’ll stay here and take care of Shiro. You won’t see me again, and you won’t tell Commander Holt anything. Okay?”

There was a breathy inhale and what he assumed was Lance nodding. Then the sound of a backpack rustling, unsteady footsteps to the front door, and eventually nothing.

Nothing, that was, except for the unceasing growling and scratching of the trapped Walker.

\----

_June 16, 20XX_

_To any who may find this:_

_I never had the chance to propose to Shiro the way I wanted to. I never was able to say my wedding vows and swear to be by his side forever. In sickness and in health, till death do us part. Turns out even death can’t separate us, not permanently._

_I did this of my own free will. We’ll live together or die together. If there is a cure out there, it’s not my part to find it. I’ve made my choice to make the best out of this ugly, rotten world, and this is the only way I figured I could make it work._

_Please, if you’re hunters, leave us be. The bedroom door is sturdy and the window is barred. We can’t get out on our own and we’re not harming anyone by staying in our own little paradise. This is all I ask -- this is all I’ve ever asked. Please let me stay with the man I love. I can’t bear to lose him again._

_\- Keith_

**Author's Note:**

> Come talk to me at [impendingexodus.tumblr.com](https://impendingexodus.tumblr.com/)!


End file.
